This is a series of Virtual caches focused on the Earp
family.
The gravesite of Morgan Earp
Morgan Earp was born April 24, 1851 in Pella, Iowa. The youngest
of "Fighting Earps," he didn't travel as much as his other
brothers.
He met Louisa Houston, reputed granddaughter of Sam Houston and
a Cherokee woman, in Dodge City, Kansas, in 1875. They lived in
Butte, Montana until 1879.
Morgan arrived in Tombstone, Arizona Territory, in January 1880,
having left Louisa behind. However, Morgan's name is not mentioned
the June 1880 Tombstone census.
When he arrived in Tombstone he worked as a shotgun messenger
for Wells Fargo in Tombstone. His Brother Virgil was City Marshal,
and his Brother Wyatt was a Faro dealer, working in his other
brother, James' Saloon.
It took only half a minute for Wyatt Earp, brothers Virgil and
Morgan, and compatriot Doc Holliday to glaze their way onto the
national scene through the epic gunfight up the street from the O.
K. Corral, October 26, 1881. When the fight with five members of
the outlaw Clanton gang ended, three of the bandits lay dead. The
story made the pages of newspapers across the United States.
Morgan was shot in the shoulder during the gunfight near the OK
Corral. Virgil was wounded in the calf. Doc had a piercing wound to
his side. Of the three brothers, only Wyatt was uninjured in the
gunfight.
The Clantons took revenge a few months later, blowing away a
portion of Virgil Earp's arm while he was on one of his nightly
security rounds, in Tombstone.
On March 18, 1882, Morgan was killed while playing billiards at
"Campbell and Hatch's Saloon." He was only 30. A shot from the
darkness shattered his spine. Although Wyatt witnessed the shooting
the assailant escaped unidentified.
Morgan's Body was returned to Colton where it was interred in
Slover Mountain Cemetery.
The remains were moved when mining operations on Slover mountain
encroached on the Cemetery. (Slover Mountain is just southeast of
Hermosa Gardens, and has a large American Flag atop what is left of
it.)
The Earp Family had been residing in Colton since the late 1860s.
There are more Earp familiy members buried in Hermosa Gardens, and
also in Pioneer Cemetery in San Bernardino, and in Mountain View
Cemetery in San Bernardino. Nicholas Porter Earp, the father is
buried in the Veterans Cemetery in Sawtelle.
VERIFICATION:
Email the information from the BACK of the headstone to verify the
find. ( submit )
Caches in this Tour:
Virginia Cooksey
Virgil and Allie Earp's Home
Morgan's Rest
Famous Earps
Come see where...